Forever & Always
by PhoenixRae
Summary: Ch3 UP! A past relationship rekindled, but is it a lasting one or will it be just a passing fancy? [DG PLS R&R]
1. I Take A Chance On Me

**Disclaimer:** All Rights Reserved goes to JK Rowling and the publishers of **Harry Potter** books. I only have the rights to the plot of this story. Heck, even the songs I'm gonna be using aren't mine either. So don't sue me!

**Summary:** A past relationship rekindled, but is it a lasting one or will it be just a passing fancy?

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I don't know exactly _where_ this is headed, but here's to hoping that it goes somewhere nice and...well, _easy_ to continue on writing about. As always, constructive criticism welcomed by yours truly. Sorry for the somewhat _long_ absence. I know I still have a few fics I need to update. I'll probably get around to doing it some time soon, I just don't know _when_ that time might be...

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**I. Take A Chance On Me**

_If you change your mind, I'm the first in line  
Honey I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around  
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down  
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown  
Honey I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie  
If you put me to the test, if you let me try  
  
Take a chance on me  
(that's all I ask of you honey)  
Take a chance on me  
_ _ -- ABBA, "Take A Chance On Me"_

~ *~ @@@ ~*~

Propping herself up beside him on the twin-sized bed they shared, Ginny Weasley gave herself this chance to study the blond haired man slumbering peacefully beside her. A quick glance at the muggle wristwatch Harry gave her for Christmas the year before she graduated from Hogwarts indicated that the time now was five minutes after one in the morning. In a couple of hours she'd have to crawl out of his bed and quietly get dressed; she must leave before sunup or else risk being found out.

For the past month and a half that had been the routine between her and this man sleeping beside her.

They met by chance on the train headed back to Hogwarts. He was returning as the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor and she was the new assistant medi-witch to Madam Pomprey. She couldn't believe she'd see him again after the intervening years since they were last together. She heard he got a teaching position in some prestigious European school; little did she know he chose _Hogwarts_ of all places to teach! He looked at stunned as she was when they ran into each other on the train, but that moment of awkwardness soon passed. By the time they reached Hogwarts they were acting like nothing's changed between them.

And not two nights later she was back in his bed once more making mad, passionate love with him.

But they had to keep their dalliance a secret, just like before. After all, he still wasn't a free man and she...well, she wouldn't live up to his--and everyone else's for that matter--expectation of the future Mrs. Draco Malfoy.

Ginny gave a disheartened sigh. She loved Draco. Merlin knows how much she loved him. She was crushed when she found out shortly before Draco graduated that he was ending their affair. She didn't know why Draco wanted to end it so soon, but Ginny didn't have to wonder for so long to find out why.

She overheard Pansy Parkinson announce it on the train ride back to Kings Cross the end of that year that once she and Draco came of age (that being the set age of twenty-one that their fathers agreed on), they'd get married and start off a family together. She just had a quickie good-bye fuck with Draco in the loo when she passed by the open seventh year Slytherin girls' compartment. Draco was behind her and he too heard what Pansy just told her cohorts.

Ginny never believed people when they told her about their experiences when it comes to having your heart broken into tiny pieces. Heck, it felt like someone just ripped her heart right out of her chest at that very moment! She quickly turned around and gave Draco a wide-eyed, unbelieving look before she fled to the compartment she shared with her friends.

She got a letter from Draco later that summer. He wanted to explain to her what she overheard, but she didn't want to hear any of it. As far as she was concerned he just used her. And like the fool she was, she fell for his charms and sweet-talking.

After her heartbreaking experience with Draco Malfoy, Ginny threw herself into becoming a full-fledged medi-witch. She didn't want to date anybody after what just happened to her, but a year and a half later she somehow got over the pain of what just happened and accepted a date with Neville. The date went well, but they just didn't click together. She and Neville remained friends though, but he was the start of her long list of not-so-fulfilling dates.

Ginny thought she got over Draco, but every time she went out on a date she was always looking for a little something of him in each and every guy she went out with. She finally gave up on dating when she realized that she still had her hang-ups on Draco. No matter how hard she tried, deep in her heart she was hoping to have him come back to her and leave Pansy alone.

She was elated to cloud nine when she noticed that his fingers were bare when they ran into each other on the train. She was half expecting him to be sporting it now that he was already twenty-two. He didn't mention anything about his married life (_if_ he was indeed married) nor did she ask. Their falling into bed together came as a surprise to her. When she was summoned by Draco to his chamber that night over a month ago, she was only suppose to give him something for his stomach pain. She didn't have to stay with him that extra thirty minutes it took before he reached for her and fastened his mouth hungrily on hers, practically yanking him on top of her on this very same bed they were now on.

She thought it was just a fluke. A one-night-stand to dispel past emotions that they were never able to sort out before. But she was wrong. After that night she received an owl from Draco the following evening asking to meet with her in his chamber. She knew he wasn't feeling under the weather by then, but she went anyway simply because she wanted to take as many chance as she could have to see him and be with him.

Ginny ran her fingers through his head, feeling its silky texture against her skin. She still loves him. Oh sweet Merlin, she couldn't believe it but now more than ever the pain she felt when she found out he was already engaged to someone else came coming back. He may not be wearing a wedding ring, but she knew she'd never be more than just a casual fling to him. 

He'd still marry Pansy and she'd still nurse a broken heart.

~*~ @@@ ~*~

Draco heard her moving quietly around in his room. He didn't have to look at a clock to know what time it was. She always leave him at exactly the same time every night they were together.

Three o'clock in the morning.

They didn't agree on a set time for her to leave. She just decided to leave at that time. He didn't want her to leave, but it was too late now to say anything. He should've said something about it when they started cavorting during the dead of the night for their trysts. He didn't want to give Ginny any hope. It was better this way.

His chamber door gave a quiet sigh as she exited. He waited a couple of heartbeats before he reached for the small black box on his bedside table and opened it. Inside glinted the thin gold band he had kept from her inquiring brown eyes to see. He pushed himself up and slipped the gold band into his left hand ring finger.

Draco let out a bitter laugh as he stared at the damned ring on his finger. If it hadn't been for this damn sham of a marriage his father arranged long before Draco was allowed to think for himself, he'd be seeing the same thin gold band glistening from Ginny's finger. But the Fates were unfair to them both.

He was only asking for trouble by continuing on his dalliance with Ginny. But Ginny was his drug. The last five years was hell for him. He tried everything he could to break off his engagement with Pansy, but Lucius would hear none of it. A pact was a pact, Draco must fulfill it whether he wanted it or not.

Draco chose not.

He did everything he could to get to Ginny. He wanted to explain to her that it wasn't a love match between him and Pansy. It was an arranged marriage. But Ginny didn't bother hearing him out. In the end Lucius won, but not entirely. Draco held out his end of the bargain, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to produce an heir with that slut he was unfortunate enough to call his wife.

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**A/N:** Okay, this is a crappy chapter. This is what most people would probably call a WIP. I have some idea on _where_ this story is going, but it might take me a while to steer it to its rightful direction. I am trying to get "inspired" by lines from songs so...hehehehe, _that_ will sure take a while. Anyways, tell me what you think of what I have written here so far, okay?


	2. II Insensitive

**Disclaimer:** All Rights Reserved goes to JK Rowling and the publishers of **Harry Potter** books. I only have the rights to the plot of this story. Heck, even the songs I'm gonna be using aren't mine either. So don't sue me!

**Summary:** A past relationship rekindled, but is it a lasting one or will it be just a passing fancy?

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** Alright, here's my second attempt (_ha! as if!_) at working on this story. *grins* I still don't know _where_ it's going. Either I end it on a "happily ever after" note or end it on a somewhat "not-so-happily-ever-after" note, hehehehehe...

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**II. Insensitive**

_How do you numb your skin  
After the warmest touch  
How do you slow your blood  
After the body rush  
How do you free your soul  
After you've found a friend  
How do you teach your heart  
It's a crime to fall in love again  
  
Oh, you probably won't remember me  
It's probably ancient history  
I'm one of the chosen few  
Who went ahead and fell for you  
I'm out of vogue, I'm out of touch  
I fell too fast, I feel too much  
I thought that you might have  
Some advice to give on how to be  
Insensitive  
-- Jann Arden, "Insensitive"_

~*~ @@@ ~*~

"Draco, I've been thinking," Ginny broke the silence that stretched between them two nights before Christmas holiday. She lay ensconced in the arms of her lover, her head propped on his chest, feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest and the soft beating of his heart.

"Mmm," Draco grunted. He had his arm covering his eyes. He was probably trying to sleep, but Ginny was wide awake and couldn't help herself from wondering where this love affair--_if_ what they were having right now could be termed that--of theirs would go. They had been discreetly meeting during the dead of the night for the past three months now, and yet Ginny doesn't know where she stood in all this.

She may be enjoying the sex (since _when_ did she not enjoy sex with Draco Malfoy?), but if that was all that was expected out of this affair of theirs, she wanted to know _now_ before it was too late. She couldn't risk falling for the man again and in the end nurse yet another broken heart. Once was enough; she didn't need to go around the same block twice.

"Draco..." she began, but then found her voice trailing off. She doesn't know how to broach the subject up. They weren't as close to each other as they once were. They may be having sex, but there was already a barrier erected between them that warned her to tread carefully.

Draco must've sensed her difficulty in voicing out what she had been thinking. He removed his arm from his eyes and looked down at the redhead snugly resting in the crook of his arm.

"What is it, Gin?" he asked softly.

At the sound of his voice, Ginny lifted her head from his chest and looked up to meet his gray eyes. She saw concern and, for the briefest moment, _love_ gleam into those icy eyes of his. Oh Merlin help her, but she was starting to feel those unwanted feelings she learned to push at the very back of her head since she started cavorting with Draco at the beginning of the school year.

"Gin?" he cajoled, his pale gray eyes pleading with her to tell him what was bothering her.

_It's now or never, Ginny. Ask him now before you lose your chance,_ a voice at the back of her head urged. She knew she had to seize this opportunity now or she may never have the same chance to do so in the near future.

"I am just thinking about us. What we have right now. And I guess...well," she gave a slight shrug and rested her head back on his chest. She couldn't ask him her question while looking him straight in the eyes.

"Well what?"

She took another deep breath and waited a couple of heartbeats before continuing, "Do what we have right now mean something to you? Do _I_ mean something to you?"

~*~ @@@ ~*~

Draco's arm tightened around Ginny's slender body. He wasn't expecting her to ask her this. But her questioning their relationship wasn't far from his mind. Draco tried to brace himself time and again for the day when Ginny would come out and ask him what he expected of them, but nothing could prepare him for when he actually had to answer her.

He had two choices here. Either he come out now and tell her the truth that he had been having an illicit extramarital affair with her _or_ he could do it the usual Draco Malfoy style: cold, uncaring SOB.

He chose to do the latter.

"Honestly Weasley, you weren't expecting that we'd pick up where we left off five years ago, did you?" he let out a bitter, sarcastic laugh. _Ginny please forgive me for being an ass. It's the only way to spare you from further pain and suffering,_ he silently pleaded, his arm around her tightening some more, pressing her lithe form against him. Imprinting her softness against the hard contours of his aroused body. "You're just another _available_ body to me, and it's just by sheer dumb luck that we happened to be _former_ lovers."

~*~ @@@ ~*~

That hurt. That _really_ hurt. How the heck he could act this way after what they had been doing the past three months? Of course she was aware that it was more about sex than anything else, but the least she expected was for him to feel something for her other than another fuck-buddy!

But she asked for this. At least for once he was _honest_ with her.

"Well, that sure cleared that itty-bitty part, didn't it?" Ginny hoped she sounded convincing with her carefree attitude about his answer. The last thing she wanted was for Draco Malfoy to find out that she was still the same naive girl he met, loved, bedded, and fooled five years ago. "We know where we stand with each other."

"And _where_ do I stand with you, Ginny?" he questioned, his voice laced with both curiosity and nonchalance that Ginny couldn't point out which one it was.

Lifting her head off his chest once more, Ginny flashed him a big grin. Her biggest, carefree grin she could muster under the circumstance.

"Like what I am to you, Malfoy, _you're_ just another available body for me to while away my time here at Hogwarts."

"Hmmm. Touché, Ginny," he sounded startled at her brazen reply. "The last five years made you grow a backbone. I thought when I ran into you on the train to here you were still the same naive girl with a wee bit of Weasley temper in you."

"Well you assumed wrong, Malfoy. _Very_ wrong." _Oh Merlin help me for lying through my teeth! I am still that same naive girl with a wee bit of Weasley temper, Draco. I am just putting on an act here just so you won't see my pain._

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**A/N:** Alright, it's...well, I dunno. This darn thing is headed towards the recycling bin! *lol* I am trying to make this story as short as possible (as if I'm capable of writing a short story, bwahahahaha) so I just skip some months. Next chapter will be...well, Valentines day? *lol* Nah, I ain't gonna skip _that_ far ahead. Like what I already warned you people, this is a WIP and might soon turn to a PWP, but let's hope not! *screams*

**Pudding Speck:** Thanks for the compliment (I hope ::winks::). And I'm hoping that this story turns out good too.

**killtheposeurs:** Thanks. And I hope I get inspired enough by a few songs to actually visualize what the next chapter will look like so I can get it out and posted online! *lol*

**hasapi:** Not knowing where to go with this one _is_ the challenge. But I sorta know where I'm gonna take this. It's just that fork at the end of their long (_or_ short, depending on how many chapters I decide to write) journey. Should I make theirs a happy ending or not?

**Z. M. Synerus:** Like what I told _hasapi_, I am not entirely sure where this story is heading, but we'll just have to wait and see where the songs that inspires me take me. ::winks:: *lol*

**lilikins:** Nope, I haven't left ff.net yet. I just took a "sabbatical" of some sort. *lol*

**Surya:** Thanks. I wasn't sure about the plot when I first typed it. I just read the lines from the song I quoted in the first chapter and went on from there. *lol*


	3. III Why Can't I?

**Disclaimer:** All Rights Reserved goes to JK Rowling and the publishers of **Harry Potter** books. I only have the rights to the plot of this story. Heck, even the songs I'm gonna be using aren't mine either. So don't sue me!

**Summary:** A past relationship rekindled, but is it a lasting one or will it be just a passing fancy?

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I am sorry for the delayed update. I've been busy and...well, after the previous chapter, I can't find another "good" song to get me in the mood. But now, _hopefully_, I found _the_ song to best express the feelings in this chapter...

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**III. ****Why Can't I?**

_It's an itch we know we are gonna scratch  
Gonna take a while for this egg to hatch  
But wouldn't it be beautiful  
  
Here we are, we're at the beginning  
We haven't fucked yet, but heads spinning  
  
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you  
Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you  
It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it  
So tell me  
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you  
  
I'd love for you to make me wonder  
Where it's goin'  
I'd love for you to pull me under  
Somethin's growin'  
for this that we can control  
Baby I am dyin'  
-- Liz Phair, "Why Can't I?"_

~*~ @@@ ~*~

Draco took a long, savouring sip of his cup of hot cocoa he asked one of the house elves to bring him. He stood facing the stone fireplace in his private quarters, contemplating on the events leading up to him spending New Year's Eve alone in this old, dreary castle with nothing but a few students and teachers lingering around to share this holiday season with. He thought this year he won't be spending new year's alone. Even when he was back at the Manor he shared with Pansy he still felt alone. He has done quite enough of that from years before and he has had it with being alone. He thought Ginny would stay behind and spend the holiday with him. 

But she chose to go home to her family instead.

Not that he blamed her, of course. It would be odd if Ginny didn't return home for the holidays. He knew how close-knit of a family the Weasleys are. None of the large member of Ginny's clan would miss getting together for Christmas unless they were stuck at work or elsewhere and getting away from the rest would be an impossible task.

He bid her farewell before she left with the rest of the students returning to their families for the holiday. She just spent the evening with him, making love and talking about nothing. Since that night she asked him that question about their relationship, Ginny asked less personal stuff and talked more about general stuff. Their main topic most of the time were the students they saw daily. She'd share with him one student's dilemma for going to the infirmary and he...well, he'd pretty much tell her nothing _exciting_ that happened regarding his students.

He wanted to talk to her about his marriage. He wanted to come out and tell her that no, he wasn't a free man, but he had never found happiness in his wife's arms like what he did when he was with Ginny.

No. Draco shook his mop of silver grey hair and turned his back on the dancing embers. He'd be asking for a smack in the face if he told her that. Leaving Ginny in the dark about his marital status was the best course of action--for now. He kept on telling himself he'd let Ginny in on what was her point in his life, but not yet. He wanted to _feel_ once again. He wanted to have a year with her once more. He had loved only _one_ woman since his years at Hogwarts, and up to his dying day he knew _she_ was the only one who could ever fulfill him.

He fell in love with Ginny Weasley long before that first night that he sought her out after she left the library late. Secretly he started to feel something for the youngest Weasley offspring that he never thought he'd feel for anyone. He watched her play Quidditch. He watched her interact with her friends. Heck, he even watched her flirt with other guys. He watched her grow up and turn into the fine young woman that she was during his seventh year at Hogwarts. She was an excellent student as well, and that impressed him. An excellent student. A good Quidditch player. A fantastic friend. A sweet, innocent tease. She got to him. She piqued his curiosity and thus making him watch her more and more, but from afar of course. He didn't know how to approach her, until chance presented itself to him that night during his patrol.

He didn't mean to jump into bed with her right away. But she was a passionate little thing and he was too selfish to share her with anyone else. If there was any guy who'd deflower his sweet, innocent Ginny, it would have to be him. And deflower her he did. Draco didn't know whether to shout for joy or growl in frustration when he learned that Ginny hadn't been intimate with anyone--not even those dufus she often flirted with. He was just glad that she wasn't spoiled by those losers who wouldn't know _how_ to satisfy a woman as delicate as his Ginny.

_His Ginny._ No two words ever sounded so sweet when put together. 

A year. That was all he wanted. A year with Ginny Weasley before he completely let her out of his life. By next year he'd be transferring to a different school. He wouldn't want to torment himself by seeing her daily during mealtime and not be able to touch her.

~*~ @@@ ~*~

"Aunt Ginny, what's wrong?" asked one of her twin brothers' daughter, Ainslie.

Ginny looked down at the petite redhead and smiled. She was standing by the window inside the Burrow's living room staring outside at the falling snow. Since she arrived back at the Burrow she'd done nothing but look outside longingly, her mind racing with thoughts. Wondering how Draco was and if he was missing her terribly.

_Of course he doesn't, you fool!_ scolded that tiny voice inside her head. _You're not but just a quickie lay to him. He'll miss the sex but not the woman giving him sex._

Ginny winced at this thought. She didn't want to be just a fuck buddy to Draco Malfoy. Not now. Not when she was at the stage when having someone become a part of her life constantly looked quite inviting. And even before, when she was still in school, she didn't want to be with anyone else but the one boy--man now--she knew she'd have a hard time winning over.

But she _did_ win him over. She and Draco became lovers back in school before she even realized what just happened. She was out late one night during her sixth year at Hogwarts. She did some last-minute cramming session inside the library and didn't notice the time until Madam Pince told her she was closing up. She hastily returned back to Gryffindor tower, only to ran headlong into Draco Malfoy's arms.

She thought she'd be in trouble from the school Head Boy, but Draco surprised her when, without warning, he grasped her by the arms and claimed her mouth in a kiss that was a mixture of raw brutality and sweet sensuality. She was frozen on the spot. She didn't know what to do. She wasn't a prude who hasn't kissed any guy yet. But this was Draco Malfoy she was locking lips with! In as much as she enjoyed feeling his mouth--and his tongue too!--against her lips and soon inside her mouth, Ginny knew it was wrong to enjoy something as sweet as the kiss he was giving her.

She braced her hands on his chest, intending to push him away and break the kiss. But Draco must've read her mind and he softened his kiss, making Ginny's hands curl around the lapel of his robes and pull him closer. That slight indication that she wasn't opposed to his kisses was enough for Draco to push her up hard against the cold, stone castle wall and continued to kiss her senseless. He wedged his leg between her thighs and made her straddle him. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them against the wall over her head.

Ginny thought she'd go insane with the way he was rubbing his thigh between her legs! She have heard of orgasm before, of course, but never in her life had she experienced one--nor came close to having one until now!

Her pants were stilted. She was close to the edge and clenching her thighs harder against Draco's.

"Not yet, sweetheart, not yet," Draco whispered hoarsely, his mouth traveling south to trail kisses down her throat, moving right at the base of it before continuing on its southward voyage. He stopped at the opening of her robe, noticing that the top buttons of her uniform were undone (she opened them while she was studying in the library because she felt constricted with it buttoned up so high). He caught her wrists in one hand and let the other unbutton a few more buttons of her blouse, revealing her pastel coloured bra underneath. He pulled down one cup and stared at the pointy pebbles inviting him to suckle on. He slowed down rubbing his thigh between her legs and captured one tight bud on his mouth.

Ginny bit her bottom lip to stop herself from screaming. This was insane. _She_ was insane. Draco Malfoy was her enemy. He did nothing but torment the living hell out of her. And he was _still_ doing the same thing to her, only...only this time he brought her to mind-numbing arousal and she needed her release soon or she'd loose her mind!

Draco released her wrists and let his hand drop to her waist. He reluctantly pulled away from suckling her breast and met her gaze. He was as aroused as she was. She could see it in his eyes; it reflected her own arousal.

"Come with me to my room tonight, Ginny," he invited. And those eight little words were her undoing. She forgot about returning back to Gryffindor tower that night. Instead she allowed Draco Malfoy to unleash the woman inside her. From that night on, until she found out that spending forever after with Draco Malfoy was impossible, she became his lover. _They_ became lovers who never once uttered their true feelings to each other. Deep down inside Ginny knew she fell in love with the Draco Malfoy she met with every night for their trysts, but after she overheard Pansy that day on the train...

Ginny closed her eyes and blocked out the memories that was triggered suddenly. When she opened her brown eyes once again she focused it on her niece who was staring at her with a frown.

"Are you okay, Aunt Ginny?" Ainslie asked again.

"Yes, sweetie," Ginny nodded. "I'm okay. I'm just...I'm just thinking, that's all," she explained.

"You're always thinking, Aunt Ginny. And you always look sad," the little girl pointed out.

"I'm not sad," she denied and put on her best fake smile for her niece's sake. "See? I'm smiling."

Ainslie cocked her head to the side. She wasn't fooled. Her aunt was lying to her. But she didn't want to prod her anymore so she left her alone.

Ginny kept the fake smile plastered on her face until her niece left her alone once more. Turning back to gaze out the window, Ginny sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. It wouldn't be too long before she was back in his arms again. She missed him terribly this past few days that she can't wait until she returned back to Hogwarts at the start of the new semester.

Ginny was a realist. She knew what she had with Draco right now wasn't a lasting one. And yet...the naive girl in her still kept on hoping for something more than what she had right now...

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**A/N:** I am so, so, _sooooo_ sorry for not updating sooner! For those of you who reviewed the last couple of chapters, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! Your comments were really appreciated by yours truly. And hope you all like this next chapter here. I'm not sure _when_ the fourth chapter's coming out, but let's hope it comes out before the end of December. *lol*


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